WIP's and Local Yarns

 

Three of my current WIP's: a vest, mittens and shawl. 

 

The vest is the 18 mos. sized Milo - one of my truly favorite baby/toddler knits.  There are so many ways to customize it - I went back and forth on whether to include a stranded color pattern (elephants! flowers! polka dots!) but in the end decided on a simple cable.  I hope to have this one off the needles, on on daughter #4, by tonight.

 

The mittens are a work of art - Wintergreen by Kate Gilbert.  I am making a few modifications to the pattern, however.  Adding a thumb gusset on the side and I'm not twisting the leaf stitches.  I don't think it matters much with such contrasting colors (and makes the knitting go just a hair faster).  They are a labor of love and probably won't be complete for some time.  They are a concentration project - one that I need space and quiet to work on.  It is the second mitten pattern of Kate's that I've knit and I am pleased, yet again, with the intricate design details (first project here).

 

Last is another Simple Yet Effective Shawl, knit up with my own hand dyed yarn.  I have to confess that I had this shawl in mind when I dyed the yarn so I am excited to see it knit up.  I am happy with the colors/striping and hope that it will find just the right recipient this holiday season.

 

Note: the colors in the photo are not very true - it has been gray and rainy these past few days.  Perfect for knitting, but sucky for indoor photography.  That vest, while pink, is more a peachy-pink.  And the base color for those mittens is actually a deep purple.  The shawl colors you can see better in this post about yarn dying.

 

And speaking of WIP's, I just cast-on for a hat last night and owing to the bulky weight of the yarn, am already half-way done.  I am in love with it and will find it hard to part with.  But I know a lucky girl that will get this for a holiday gift (pictured next to it is the yarn to make a matching one for her sister!).  This is a superwash wool, hand-dyed by Liz Avery at The Sow's Ear. 

 

 

Lastly, I am REALLY, REALLY excited because this morning I placed an order for truly local yarn: Finewool Yarn by Five Green Acres.  Mary Jo stewarded this wool from pasture to skein, and has lived the entire process from shearing to cleaning to dying to spinning.  Her First Harvest: Backyard skeins have amazing colorways such as Sugar Maple, Blue Jay and the like.   Check out the yarn for yourself - it has an amazing story.  And Mary Jo?  She's an amazing woman.